In This Kiss
by Only Sarah
Summary: In which Zoey reflects on her relationships, past and present, and the kisses associated with them. ONESHOT.


Disclaimer: I still don't own Zoey 101 or 'Kiss Me." Never have, never will.

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><p>"<em>Oh, kiss me beneath the milky twilight<br>Lead me out on the moonlit floor  
>Lift your open hand<br>Strike up the band and make the fireflies dance  
>Silver moon's sparkling<br>So kiss me"_

Jeff Norkin

He was small, skinny, with too big glasses and freckles. And while she had never actually kissed a boy, twelve year old Zoey didn't hesitate when she softly pressed her lips to his own.

She didn't like him – not at all, but something inside of her caved when she saw him standing over her in the school yard, holding a valentine in his hand, giving it to her. His sweetness was enough for her to stand up and kiss him. He had few friends, and she silently prayed that nobody else saw the exchange, but she felt as if it were necessary.

He was her first kiss, her first of many meaningless kisses.

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><p>Glenn Davis<p>

Sure, they had only attended the PCA lower school dance together, but the week leading up to the dance, Zoey found herself with another admirer.

She wanted to choose Chase, she really did, but Glenn seemed nice, and it was always good to meet new people. Glenn was cute, and so was Chase, but Chase didn't seem to want to be anything more than friends, and she actually had a shot with Glenn.

He had kissed her cheek, not her lips, but it felt wrong. And even though she was only nearing the end of eighth grade, freshly turned fourteen, Zoey knew that a kiss was supposed to feel different than that. She should have butterflies in her stomach, and feel nervous, but she didn't.

Glenn used her, and after that night she never spoke to him again. She saw him approaching a few times, but she shook her head and walked away. She had no interest in a guy like that.

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><p>Danny Freeman<p>

Her time with Danny was short, sweet, but faltered quickly. After the whole Quinn-setting-a-germ-loose-in-the-dorm fiasco, he never really seemed to trust her. They went on a few dates, texted each other, but when they had kissed for the first time, it felt wrong.

_He pressed his lips to hers, softly, but too weak for her liking. It lasted for about three seconds, but she couldn't kiss him back. _

_He pulled away and took a step back. "You didn't kiss me back."_

"_Look, Danny. I'm sorry. I can't do this."_

_He smiled. "It's okay. I didn't feel anything either. No harm done."_

_She smiled back and kissed him on the cheek before turning and walking away. _

He was a good guy, and last she had heard he was in a relationship, and she was happy for him. They nodded at each other when they walked by, giving small smiles, but they had no chemistry. A short spark, but no lasting flame.

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><p>Lance Rivers<p>

She seemed to have a tendency of going out with these all too perfect guys, with the perfect hair and athletic bodies, but their personalities never really clicked together the way they should.

Their relationship lasted for 23 days, long enough that it could be deemed as an actual relationship, but short enough that it made no impact on her, or anyone else for that matter, when it ended suddenly.

She thought that he had the best intentions, but was proven wrong. While his gesture of rigging the raffle, a trip for two to a movie premiere in LA seemed sweet, and some girls might have loved it, she was disgusted. He tried to make it romantic, but she wouldn't date a guy who would cheat someone else out of what they deserved.

When she had found out that he was going with her to the premiere, she had kissed him. His lips were too harsh, too hard, but the excitement of winning mixed with how cute he was interfered with what her heart was trying to tell her.

_He pulled away from the kiss, and Quinn and Lola exchanged glances. They knew from Zoey's posture that she didn't like that kiss, but they also knew she was blinded by his attractiveness and apparent perfection, they left her alone._

She broke up with him.

Every guy she dated seemed to have something in common. They seemed perfect, but once you broke down the barriers, the walls, there was no chemistry. She knew in her gut that she wasn't meant to date any of them, but when they asked her out, she said yes, and the rest was history.

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><p>James Garrett<p>

Continuing on with the tradition, James was perfect. Well, at least to any other girl he encountered. Zoey wasn't so sure. She had told Chase that she loved him, and she really did, so she wasn't quite sure why she had kissed James back that night by the fountain. Even as she kissed him, memories of Chase flashed though her head, mostly ones that had occurred in the very spot she stood.

She did genuinely like James, and there was a spark between them. It just happened to burn slightly longer than the others, before it burned out.

Maybe if she didn't know the truth about Chase, or if she hadn't realized that she was in love with Chase, she might have actually put her all into her relationship with James. But she couldn't.

His kiss was almost perfect, but something about the way his lips felt on her own felt off, and she couldn't exactly pinpoint what, but it did.

"_Hey babe." He said to her, approaching by the fountain. She absolutely despised being called 'babe' but she put up with it, knowing that James really tried._

"_Hey." She said back with a smile, tilting her head up towards him. He pressed his mouth down on hers and took her hand._

_They walked to the movie theater and watched a movie of his choosing. She didn't pay much attention, mostly watching the other couples in the room cuddling or holding hands. He held her hand, but she mostly just wished he would let go._

_After they left the theater, it was dark out, and they held hands and walked around, finally sitting on a bench towards the division between the campus and the wilderness. He leaned in slowly and kissed her and she kissed him back. There was nobody around, but she prayed that someone would show up and interrupt them. They sat there, kissing for several moments before he slid his hand up her leg, much closer than she was prepared for, and she pulled back._

"_I'm sorry…" He said, an apologetic look on his face._

"_It's okay, James." She replied. "I'm just really tired, I'm going to go back to my dorm now."_

"_Sure." He said, and she stood up and walked away, not giving him another look as tears streamed down her face. She felt guilty, because she had hurt James, and longed for another pair of lips to be kissing her own, another set of hands to hold._

He had given her the necklace a week later, and she had broken up with him five days later.

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><p>Chase Matthews<p>

"_I'm just realizing something now." He said to her as they sat on the fountain, catching up over everything that had happened over the last five months of his absence. It had been almost a week since prom, a Thursday, and they had been spending almost every free moment they had outside class together._

"_What's that?"_

"_I've never actually asked you out, Zo."_

_She laughed. "I think it was implied when I kissed you."_

_He shook his head. "Nope. It's not official until we have a real date."_

"_I guess we really haven't had a real date, unless you count me sitting in Sushi Rox with Quinn as she tries to fix my webcam."_

"_And Colin yelling at me in the background." He said, rolling his eyes, before looking you in the eye and taking your hands. "So: Zoey Brooks, will you go out with me?"_

"_Well, that is a tough decision." She said, making a mock expression of confusion, and then laughing at his face. "Of course I will, Chase Matthews."_

"_Oh thank god. You had me worried there."_

_He leaned in and kissed her, and she felt everything that she was supposed to feel in a kiss._

His kiss was essentially perfect in every way. The feeling she got in her whole body as his lips molded into her own made her feel as if she was on top of the world, and that the earth stopped spinning just for a brief moment, and as if they were the only two left on campus.

Their first date, the first of many dates, was casual. They had a picnic by the lake, and it was the best first date she ever had. It wasn't extravagant, but she liked it better that way. She had quickly learned that it wasn't the actual activity or setting of the date that made it spectacular, but the person she was with. And Chase was perfect.

They sat together and looked out across the lake, enjoying each other's presence.

"_I have to say, this is easily the best date I've ever been on." She said, turning to face him._

_He smiled. "I know it's not much…" He trailed off, but she leaned in and pressed her forehead to his own, and he grinned._

_They leaned in at the same time this time, pressing their mouths together. She opened her mouth slightly wider than normal, and he got the hint. Their tongues danced for a brief moment before she smiled. He pressed his mouth to her smile and kissed her anyways._

_He sighed and wrapped an arm around her waist and smiled. She tilted the side of her head toward him, and placed it on his shoulder. _

"_I still can't believe that after everything that's happened, we're still best friends." He said, pulling her closer._

"_Best friends that are in love, and occasionally french each other."_

_He laughed. "It has its perks."_

_She smiled and kissed his jaw, and the two of them sat there, as both best friends, and a couple._

Everything seemed to fall into place when she had kissed him for the first time on prom night, and finally, her past relationship struggles made sense.

The one she was meant to kiss had in fact been standing right in front of her the whole time.

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><p><strong>AN:**

**This kind of came out of nowhere, but I was in the mood to write instead of study.**

**Everyone talks about James, but nobody ever mentions any of the other guys that Zoey had kissed. I've seen similar ideas, where people have reflected on Chase's and Michael's past girlfriends, but nobody ever mentions Zoey's.**

**As you probably know by now, I'm a hardcore ChaseZoey fan. I have some ideas for an angsty ChaseLola piece, but who knows whether or not it'll actually get written.**

**I (slightly) renamed 'Broken Hearts & New Beginnings' to something else, because I found another Choey piece with a similar title and I couldn't live with myself knowing that. It's now entitled 'Broken Hearts, Starting Over' until I come up with a better name. Suggestions are welcome. Also on that note, I FINALLY updated it, so chapter 6 is up. **

**And about Danny – he was never really given a last name so I made one up. **

**Let's face it, James was never the perfect, do-gooder that he seemed to be. Live with it. **

**Anyways, please leave reviews. I like to hear your thoughts/comments/suggestions. **

**-Sarah**


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